MANIFESTO

MANIFESTO OF A POST-CONSUMER ARTIFACTIST ARTIST

Iam an artist from the 1990's who has watched in despair as our inspiration and source of our existence has been seized by the unrelenting drive of a convenience-enamored society. We can no longer separate ourselves from our domestic life; it is imperative that we seek to heal the earth in every aspect of our lives. Life should be viewed as the earth, a whole with many parts, each part having an important and crucial role to play in the survival of the whole. Our careers are part of us and we are a part of the earth; they should not be divided.

I have been disturbed by the inefficient and insensitive practices of our throwaway society. In nature, all products of organic processes have their use; even in their state of decay they can become the fertile soil for new life. Domestic trash is the "product" of today's society. I believe we should recognize its use and give it "new life" in products that will inspire and educate our modern-day society. It is my intention to transform trash rather than dispose of it.

Art has become a strong force in the transformation of trash in the twenty-first century. Art has served not only to educate communities about the problem of trash, but also provides a solution. This manifesto calls for even more artists to take an active role in this contemporary, imperative issue.

In my art I strive to speak to a larger, more general audience beyond the environmentalists and artists. By affirming the production of artworks that allow audience interaction, I hope to educate and inspire a more diverse audience, which encompasses the young and the old, the artists and non-artists. Therefore, I reject the use of frames and glass in the presentation of most artworks. These presentation devices detach the audience from experiencing the work. It is this experience that I feel is crucial to communicating my message.

I affirm collaborations as a strong and consistent process of Post-consumer Artifactist artwork. Through collaboration with others, especially non-artists, the artist can be informed on a more personal level. Through these more personal interactions beliefs can be reaffirmed and expanded, further strengthening their just convictions.

I believe it is imperative that society's concept of waste be addressed now. I reject the notion of those who feel that recycling is not economically rewarding enough to pursue at present. I affirm a different agenda, one that puts the health of the earth before economic benefits, for we, as a society, are in true poverty without a healthy, balanced earth. Therefore, artwork should be equally sincere. The issue of municipal waste should be discussed because of the artists' concerns, not because of current popularity. Post-consumer artists see this issue, its exposure, and education about it, as a vocation, not a passing fad.

I affirm the artful use of refuse produced by others and myself within society and reject the use of abundant amounts of resins, solvents, and other environmentally harmful mediums. It is understood that various binders may be necessary for a form's construction; however, thorough research on alternatives should be done before condoning the use of toxic chemicals.

Artwork should offer solutions rather than present more environmental problems. Primary materials should be predominately post-consumer trash, and, if not, should at least be benign in regards to their environmental effects.

I believe most Artifactist artists should be willing to accept their own post-consumer artifacts as viable materials for their artwork, once again being as true as possible to their environmental convictions as possible. This does not have to include those materials that can be re-used or recycled. Through the accumulation and separation of materials, an artist can become even more aware of packaging items that are excessive. When those items become highlighted in their artwork, audiences begin to realize how many products we discard in our society. This personal accretion of art materials has an important role to play in the artist's education as well.

I acknowledge some of my forms to be strong metaphors, which discuss our human relationships to the earth as "parts of the whole". However, I reject the notion that all artworks of Post-consumer Artifactist artists have to be symbolic in this way, for much of my own work has been material based. The message of changing our view of "waste" can be ultimately stated through the material that produces the form.

I affirm the processes of the earth's cycling, recycling, and decomposition, by working with post-consumer materials that would otherwise be thrown away. I reject the representation of post-consumer artifacts in their original form as the focal point, seeking instead to break down and reformulate them. In effect, the artifacts within the work will not dominate or damage the earth, but increase our understanding if it.

Although nature and natural processes are my predominant inspirations, I do not seek to duplicate them directly in my work, for the processes of nature are sure and steady, yet unpredictable and serendipitous. Rather, nature's characteristics are employed within my forms, i.e. earth strata, textures, vegetation, fire, erosion, decay, and natural relationships.

I affirm the role we as humans play within the environment, as merely a part of it, rejecting anthropocentric views of the world that spawn beliefs that everything exists for human use and abuse. Therefore, I reject any process that causes an unnatural imbalance in the processes of nature.

I believe that as nature constantly changes, art can reflect that ever-changing process as well. Therefore, my art is sometimes un-archival, changing and even decaying as time progresses. This ever-changing state reflects natural processes of which nothing can truly be free.

I affirm the fact that each type of trash has positive attributes that can be utilized in the process of making artwork. Therefore, my materials are carefully sorted and used in ways which bring out the treasure within, renouncing even the slightest possibility that any of these materials are "useless".

To recognize the "treasure within", I believe it is important to embrace the new definitions of art. Traditionally, art has served as an inspiration, but our materials cannot always fit within those confines. Art is an experience that can be educational, tactile, thought provoking, and changing. It speaks on many levels, obvious and elusive, each role being important and crucial to spreading its message to as many people as possible.

I affirm collaboration with professionals in other fields in the production of art, recognizing that their participation could broaden public understanding of the work and give it credibility on another level. Collaboration is an exchange of knowledge, a mutualistic relationship not unlike those that occur between natural organisms. Post-consumer Artifactist artists should recognize the reciprocal benefits they will receive from these various professionals when collaborative processes art undertaken and embrace them enthusiastically.

AppealWhile writing this manifesto, I aspired to write the word "we" instead of "I." I believe there are many artists and world citizens who feel as I do. I implore them now to step forward and begin a new movement with me, filled with art as diverse as the creations of the earth, and as accessible as clean air and water should be to all creatures upon the earth